


Phantom of Beacon

by Cardinal_Crusader



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8216323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cardinal_Crusader/pseuds/Cardinal_Crusader
Summary: With the tales of Grimm, Maidens, and more coursing through Beacon, who's to say Ghosts are any different? Meet Jaune Arc, a boy gifted and cursed with the ability to turn into a ghostly form. He's an average guy, until a certain someone finds out his secret. What's he gonna do? Took some elements from Danny Phantom, but not a crossover!





	1. Welcome to Beacon

 

“Out of the way!”

The floor swayed and creaked as he ran to the nearest trashcan, emptying his breakfast into it.

Why?! Every time I’m on a damn bullhead! When I fly the other way…

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A few hours earlier

“Oh Jaune, I can’t believe you’re leaving already! Now remember, you’ve got to keep your ‘special gift’ a secret! I can hardly imagine what the asshats in Atlas would do if they found out.” Jen Arc said, pulling her brother into a hug.

Jaune rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. None of the ecto stuff, I’ve got it under control! I don’t even transform by accident anymore!” 

“Oh really? So what about the incident last week in the woods” She raised an eyebrow. “Or yesterday when your pants suddenly vanished downtown? Or this morning when yo-”

“Okay! So things aren’t one hundred percent under control, but I’ll be careful! Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” Jaune said nervously, scratching the back of his head. 

Jen looked at him with concern. “Jaune. Atlas. Scientists. Bad. Focus.” She reminded him. “There’s some general up there who would probably have you captured, imprisoned, and experimented on in a lab, probably with needles and kniv-”

“Okay! I get it! I don’t need the image of being cut up in my head! Look, I need to get running or I’ll miss the bullhead. I’m gonna miss you though, sis.” Jaune gave his sister a hug, earning one in response.

“Just be careful! And hey, maybe bring home a girl! Just don’t do anything dad told you, it’s a bunch of nonsense!” 

Jaune rolled his eyes and ran towards the bullhead, sword strapped to his waist, gauntlets compacted on his wrists, blue eyes lightly flickering to green for a moment, before flickering back to blue.

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Present

Jaune finished emptying his stomach as the bullhead landed, prompting him to rush outside, nearly hugging the ground. “Oh sweet land! You were never meant to be ruined by machines flying in the skies!” He looked around at the other students, seeing a girl holding a giant scythe standing next to a blonde girl, the latter rushing off with unknown figures shortly after. “Well that was od-”

An explosion interrupted Jaune, as the scythe girl had an issue with some dust. A girl in white was screaming at scythe girl, before a girl in black shut white down. White stamped away, and black vanished out of nowhere. 

Sighing, Jaune walked forwards, hearing a sad mumble of “Welcome to Beacon…” come from the scythe wielder. He stood over her, clearing his throat and saying “Hey, need a hand? I’m Jaune.” He extended his arm towards her, smiling honestly. 

She paused, before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up. “Ruby. Hey, aren’t you that guy who threw up on the ship?” 

“Damn…”

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“Look, all I’m saying is that motion sickness is a very common problem!” Jaune exclaimed. Ruby giggled at him.

“I’m sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind!” 

He rolled his eyes at her. “Oh yeah, well what if I called you Crater Face?”

Ruby looked at him in horror. “That wasn’t my fault! Princess over there was shaking dust in my face!”

“Well the name’s Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it!” He said, crossing his arms proudly.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at him. “Do they?”

“They will! I mean I…nevermind…” He cut himself off. “Nice job Jaune, almost say something stupid in front of the first cute girl you meet!”

Ruby paused, a confused look on her face as she kicked the ground awkwardly. “Sooo, I got this thing.” She said as she grabbed the scythe from earlier, extending it to full size, towering over her.

Had he not seen it earlier, Jaune may have jumped back in surprise, but he instead just looked on in awe.

“It’s also a customizable high impact sniper rifle.” She stated proudly.

Jaune grinned in response. “That’s awesome!” She smiled at him, suddenly looking him up and down.

“So what do you have?” Ruby asked, practically bouncing.

“Well, it depends! I’ve got up close and personal and loud and proud!” He grinned at her.

“Silent but…no! Loud and proud!” She exclaimed, actually bouncing now.

Jaune grinned before he activated a switch on his gauntlets, expanding them to their full form, covering his hands and forearms. Four barrels popped out of each gauntlet, glowing in shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. “I call them Spiritus Caestus! They use special dust rounds that my sister designed so that they could be concentrated into a beam form.”

Ruby grabbed his arm, looking at the different barrels of the gauntlets. “These are amazing! So what about up close and personal? Your sword?”

“Oh not just the sword!” He tapped the gauntlets, compacting the cannons and enlarging the fists, adding claws out of the fingertips. “I’ve got these too. They’re dust charged too, just not with the firing power of the cannons. As for the sword, it’s a family heirloom, but it does the job!” Jaune swung the sword for effect as it shot out an arc of glowing green energy. Jaune’s face paled as a bush was cut in half.

Ruby’s eyes widened and her grin grew wider, as if that was still somehow possible. “What was that?! That was amazing! Jaune, you’ve got to show me how your sword did that!”

“Oh! Well uh…” Jaune stammered. “Think fast, idiot!” He grinned a liar’s grin, sheathing the blade and scratching the back of his head. “Just a few modifications my sister made!” 

Ruby was frozen in excitement as Jaune waved a hand in front of her face.

“Uhh, Ruby? Hello in there?” Jaune snapped his fingers a few times before she shook her head in response.

“Sorry! I’m a bit of a weapons dork, but those are amazing! Oh yeah, where are we going, by the way?” She asked as the two looked around the courtyard.

Jaune blinked at her. “Going? I was following you!”

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“Ruby, over here! I saved you a spot!” The blonde girl from earlier flagged Ruby down. 

Ruby waved back in response. “Oh! Jaune! Come over with me! That’s my sister, Yang!” Ruby grabbed Jaune by the forearm, pulling him towards Yang. 

Yang eyed Jaune up and down before winking at him. “Why hello there, I don’t believe we’ve met. Yang, Yang Xiao Long. What do I call you, loverboy? Or has my darling sister already snatched you up?” 

Jaune and Ruby both blushed. “Yang! Stoooooop! This is Jaune! He found me after SOMEONE abandoned me and I exploded!” Ruby flailed her arms and Jaune and Yang just laughed. “I’m serious! I exploded, then this crabby girl started yelling at me about it and it totally wasn’t my fault because I was just trying to explain mysel-”

“YOU!” A voice shouted from behind Ruby. She jumped in surprise, turning around and seeing White from earlier. “Do you even know how dangerous Dust can be? Or did they not teach you that? Maybe you’re just too young to understand!” She practically screamed at Ruby.

“Look, maybe you two just got off on the wrong foot! Why not take it back a few steps, and try to be friends!” Yang offered, causing White to roll her eyes.

“Oh sure! Then maybe we can paint each other’s nails, stay up late, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggly here.” She pointed her thumb at Jaune, who blinked, then frowned.

“Easy there, Ice Queen. You know, maybe you should change your last name from Schnee to Schneez, if you’re going to be flinging dust at innocent people and causing them to blow up.” Jaune countered, crossing his arms at White/Weiss.

Yang and Ruby’s mouths dropped before they bust out laughing. “That was great, Jaune! I think you and I are gonna get along just fine!” Yang exclaimed, wiping a tear from laughter.

Weiss grew red in the face as she stormed off, yelling something about blonde idiots. Jaune, Ruby, and Yang continued to laugh as a microphone was tapped. 

“Welcome students to Beacon Academy. My name is Professor Ozpin…”

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The students were gathered in the dining hall, the tables having been moved out to allow for sleeping space. Jaune had changed out of his regular hoodie and jeans into a pair of black sweats and a wifebeater, and was now sitting off to one side, leaning on the wall. Ruby and Yang walked towards him, smiles plastered on their faces. 

Jaune took a look at the girls, taking in their appearances. Ruby was in a pair of sleeping pants and a black tank, looking cute, in Jaune’s opinion. Yang on the other hand left little to the imagination, with her long, white legs barely covered by her black shorts. Her top was orange and extremely low cut, showing off her womanly assets. Jaune blushed as he shook his head to avoid staring at her.

“Oh what’s the matter, Jaune? See something you like?” She winked at him before laughing at his flustered form of a response. “Oh I’m just joking, loverboy. But hey, you don’t look too bad yourself.” 

Jaune blushed further, causing Ruby to lightly punch Yang on the arm. “Yang, leave him alone! You meet anyone else while we were gone, Jaune? Anything exciting happen?” Ruby asked.

Jaune thought back to a few minutes ago when he was changing into his sleepwear. 

Jaune slipped his gear off and threw his pants on, digging through his bag for his shirt. As he finally found it, it was snatched from his hands and thrown through an open door by a ginger haired boy, who smirked. “Oops.” He said, laughing and walking off. 

Jaune groaned and walked through the door, looking around for his shirt. It was nowhere to be found, and he groaned. “How could this get worse?” Almost as if Oum above was listening, Jaune’s pants turned intangible and slipped right down to the ground before they turned back to normal, leaving him clad in only his boxers. 

“Ah!”

“Oh my…”

“Perfect…”

Jaune turned to see the Weiss, the girl in black from earlier, and a redhead all staring at him in his state of undress. “Ah!” He pulled his now tangible pants back up, blushing madly at the three. “Ehheheh…you three ladies haven’t seen a shirt get thrown in here, have you?” Jaune stammered.

The girl in black stepped forward, pulling the shirt from her yakuta. “It’s Jaune, right? Here you are.” She handed him the shirt before she walked off, swaying her hips as she did. “I’m Blake, by the way.” She left the room, leaving a blushing Jaune staring at her.

“P-put your shirt on, you dunce!” Weiss yelled after a moment, a blush spread across her cheeks. “Come on, Pyrrha!” She pulled at her friend’s arm. “Pyrrha! Hello!”

Pyrrha blinked before blushing further, her glance not straying from Jaune’s muscular form. “Oh! Yes, we should be going! Jaune was it? This is the girls changing area, though you certainly look well bui-”

“PYRRHA!”

“I’m sorry! Coming Weiss! I’ll hopefully see you around, Jaune.” She blushed, then smiled, before walking off with Weiss, who was muttering something about indecencies.

Jaune blinked, blushed harder, then put his shirt back on. 

“Nope, nothing out of the ordinary here!” Jaune said nervously. “What about you two?” 

“Psh, just Ruby writing a letter to her friends back at Signal. Way too cute for words, I mean she was just, UGH-” Yang was hit in the face with a pillow by Ruby.

“Yang, stop it! I didn’t get to bring all of my friends with me to Beacon like someone did!” Ruby groaned into her own pillow.

Yang rolled her eyes. “Well what about Jaune? That’s plus one friend!” Jaune nodded in response, earning a smile from Ruby.

“Well yeah, but then Weiss already hates me! That’s a negative friend!” 

Jaune placed his hand on her shoulder. “Ruby, I don’t think there’s such thing as negative friends. That’s just one friend and one enemy! Plus, with time, maybe Weiss will ease up a bit!” He nervously thought about the changing room incident. “If anything she probably hates me just as much as you, if that helps!”

Ruby looked at him, confused. “You? I mean I know you got a great burn on her earlier, but that doesn’t earn hat-”

“Oh look! What about Blake?!” Jaune interrupted, not wanting to talk about his pants ghosting themselves. He pointed towards her, prompting Yang to drag Ruby over to the bow clad girl. Things were going well until Weiss went over and started yelling about her beauty sleep, catching eyes with Jaune, and blushing before she stormed off again. Jaune sighed, rolling over in his sleeping bag and drifting off.

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“Jaune! Vomit boy wake up!” Ruby yelled, causing Jaune to bolt awake. His eyes glowed green for a moment before he realized where he was. “You alright Jaune? Did your eyes just change colors?” She asked.

“What?! No! Must just be a uh…a trick of the light, yeah!” Jaune panicked. 

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Yeahhhh, well, come on! Get dressed! We only have a few minutes left to eat breakfast before initiation!” She pointed at Yang who was already dressed and ready.

Jaune jumped up and started changing as he ran, earning a wolf whistle from Yang, though that stopped when his pants flew off before his jeans flew on. Jaune dressed in less than a minute, rushing past the tables with food and grabbing a muffin before re-meeting up with a blushing Yang and Ruby a few minutes later, heading out to the cliffs with the girls. 

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“Sir, how exactly are we going to be landi-AHHHHHHH” Jaune cried as he was launched into the air, before angling his body and glancing around him. “Well here goes everything!” Jaune closed his eyes, opening them as they turned green and a white ring went around his body. His hair turned white, his hoodie changed from black and orange to white and blue, and his jeans turned black. He glided down towards the forest, catching his breath as he landed. “I did it! I went full ghost! Plus no one saw me! Yeah!” He closed his eyes and pumped his fist in the air.

“Jaune?”

“Shit…”

 


	2. The Emerald Forest

 

Jaune slowly turned around, eyes still closed. As he slowly opened them, the first thing he saw was a black bow. “Blake? This isn’t what it looks like! What did you hear?”

“Oh, not much, just you talking about going full ghost, and then the obvious seeing you in complete reverse color scheme.” Blake looked him up and down. “Then there was that green beam of energy that you launched out of your sword when you were with Ruby.”

Jaune stared, open mouthed. “You saw that? Were you following us?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“I was reading, and a giant green arc of energy is a bit hard to miss. So Jaune, I ask you this: What aren’t you telling me about you? Are you a ghost? A spirit lingering in this world?” Blake questioned.

Jaune shook his head. “Nothing like that! I’m still very much alive, see?” A white ring appeared around Jaune before displacing up and down his body, changing him back to normal. Blake stepped forward, taking Jaune’s wrist in her hand.

“His heartbeat is pretty quick.” Blake thought, before looking at the boy to find him blushing. She dropped his wrist quickly, before looking at him again. “Jaune, if you’re alive, then what are you?”

“Well…I was an assistant in a lab back in Arcadia about six months ago. The head scientist was attempting to break the barrier between the world of the living and the dead.”

Jaune checked his watch, 60 seconds until activation time. “This portal could change Remnant as a whole!” He said, grinning at the machine. He was in the epicenter of the lab, having been a technical assistant in building the portal. Taking one final look, he noticed a plug was loose inside.

An alarm went off, signaling a 30 second warning time. 

“Not a second to lose!” Jaune dashed forward into the portal, and he began working the plug back into place. Just to Jaune’s luck, the plug wouldn’t quite reach the socket. “Oh come on!” 

“TEN SECONDS UNTIL PORTAL ACTIVATION. PLEASE STAND CLEAR.” An automated voice announced.

Jaune struggled, putting all he had into stretching the plug, finally getting it into the socket. “Yes!” He cheered just as the lights flickered on in the portal. There was a flash, a bang, and Jaune’s world went green. 

He stumbled out of the portal, burns all over his body. An alarm was sounding, and footsteps of security could be heard running down the hallway. Jaune struggled his way to the emergency exit, hobbling up the stairs and through the field.

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Jen Arc was in a lab of her own, working on a new dust generator for her staff, when she heard a rustle outside. Heading out, she saw Jaune, injured and half conscious fall to the ground. 

She ran forwards, checking his pulse and trying to tend to the burns. “Dammit Jaune! Mom’s gonna kill me for this.” She said before she placed her hand over his heart. For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee.”

Jen gave off a faint glow of blue as she unlocked Jaune’s aura. He began to glow white, before a flash of green emanated from his body. Jaune began to change, his hair turning white. As his eyes flickered open, Jen noticed they were glowing green. 

His wounds healing, Jaune slowly sat up, looking at his sister. “Jen…what happened to me?”

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“After that, Jen made me swear to keep what had happened a secret. She helped train me in my aura a bit, and that helped me start to get control of this ‘ghost’ form. I don’t really know what happened to the lab after that. I went by a few days later and everything had been cleared out.” Jaune explained as the two walked, keeping an eye out for Grimm. 

Blake stopped, looking at Jaune. “So you don’t really know what happened to you at all?” 

“Well, my sister ran a DNA test on me. It was a mixture of human and…something else. Not Faunus, and Grimm don’t have DNA, so it wasn’t that either. We took it to assume it was ghost, and that I guess I’m now half ghost or something. Blake, I’ve got to ask you to please not tell anyone about this. If Ozpin and the teachers found out…” Jaune paled at the thought, his stomach wrenching.

Blake looked at Jaune with concern, before making a decision. Jaune, you’ve got to trust me with this, so I suppose I’ll give you a reason to trust me, but it’s a secret as well. Can I trust you?” She asked, before receiving a nod. Her hands went to her head, untying her bow and revealing a pair of cat ears.

Jaune blinked at her, before speaking. “You’re…a Faunus?”

Blake nodded, preparing herself for the worst.

“Awesome!” Jaune exclaimed.

Blake’s mouth dropped in shock. “Y-you’re not disgusted by me? You don’t see me as some kind of freak?”

“Blake, you just saw me turn into a ghost, fly through the sky, change back into a human, and then listened to my horrific tale of being a half ghost. If anything, I’m more surprised you don’t see ME as a freak. As for being a Faunus, well, it doesn’t bother me. I grew up in a pretty evenly balanced human/Faunus community, so everyone was, for the most part, pretty kind to one another.” Jaune grinned at her. “Plus, they’re pretty cute.”

Blake blushed as red as Ruby’s cloak at Jaune’s final sentence. “Cute? No one’s ever called them cute before! I mean, even Adam just looked at them like they were nothing out of the ordinary. Guess Jaune’s different.

“Blake?” Jaune asked, waving his hand in front of her face. “Blaaaaake?” 

She shook the images out of her head, tying her bow back on her head. “Well Jaune, now we each have something to keep secret for the other. Can I be trusted now?” She stuck her hand out to him, pausing at his moment of uncertainty.

Jaune looked at her, watching as her bow slightly twitched, before he took her hand in his and shook it. “Trust. Oh! I just realized! We’re partners now, aren’t we?” 

Blake froze, staring at him in the most deadpan way possible. “Jaune…you’re seriously just now realizing that?” 

“What?! Oh no…I was just joking! Funny man here!” Jaune leaned one hand onto a tree, before his arm went intangible and he fell right over.

Blake smirked, before going to her partner and helping him up. “So I take it you don’t have full control over your powers? I mean between this and the pants incident…” 

Jaune blushed at the memory. “Well, for the most part I actually do. Just sometimes if I get flustered, well, you saw what happens.”

“Well if anything, it’s a one of a kind gift. Never be ashamed of it, Jaune. Now, as nice as it is chatting out here, maybe we should find the relic?” Blake suggested, taking a look around the clearing.

Jaune nodded, glancing around as well, before looking at the sky. “Well, it looked like there were some ruins to the east of the cliffs, and if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, then we should head this way!” He said, pointing east.

Blake nodded in agreement. “Lead the way, Jaune.”

 

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Jaune and Blake stepped forward into the ruins, seeing various pillars containing chess pieces. “Think this is it?” Jaune asked, earning an eye roll from Blake. 

Blake looked at the pillars, mentally counting how many were left. “Some of the pieces are missing. Guess we weren’t the first ones here.”

Jaune stepped forward, taking a white knight piece in his hand. “How bout a knight? It’s like me!” He grinned at Blake who raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh yes, the white knight. Wielder of a sword and even more ghostly than a sheet.” She joked, finally getting an eye roll back. “Oh, so you do have a sense of sarcasm!” 

Jaune grinned, storing the relic in his bag. “Well sure I do. Just most of the time I hide it away, like my pow-Ruby!” 

Blake blinked, turning towards the forest. Ruby and Yang had just charged in, a few Ursa on their tails. 

Yang leaped over one as it charged, slamming her fist down into the top of its head with a satisfying crack. She landed and made to charge at the other, before a red blur shot past her and a suddenly headless Ursa was in front of her. “Oh come on Ruby, I had that one!” Yang shouted.

“Yang, we’re partners now! And as your partner I think I should get to kill SOME of the Grimm!” Ruby cried, flailing her arms nonsensically. She turned back towards the ruins, and grinned. “Jaune!” She started to run forward before her hood was grabbed by Yang. 

“Easy there, little sister. Don’t want you overexerting yourself. Blake! Ladykiller! Hey!” She waved, casually walking to the duo, Ruby in tow. “Nice to see you made it. Xiao Long did it take you two to get here?” She grinned.

Blake groaned at the pun, while Jaune just chuckled lightly. “It wasn’t too bad actually. Up until you two got here, we didn’t actually see a single Grimm. It was kind of weird! Convenient, but weird!” He said, grinning at the blonde and the reaper.

“So, you and Blake eh? Well, I guess there is only one of Jaune to go around, so I GUESS I’ll be fine with Ruby as a partner.” Yang joked, causing Ruby to elbow her in the ribs.

“Yang! Totally not coo-”

BOOM

“What in the world was tha-” Blake was cut off as the trees near the edge of the clearing burst forward, a Deathstalker charging out. On its head was a ginger haired girl with what appeared to be a grenade launcher. The beast stabbed its tail at her, only to have it knocked aside and the grenade launcher slammed onto its head, knocking it out. 

“Aww, it’s broken.” The ginger haired girl said.

Pyrrha rushed out of the forest, noticing Nora atop the now unconscious Grimm. “Nora! Please, don’t leave me behind like that!” She took a moment to catch her breath, and Nora was gone.

“Ooooh!” Nora cooed as she looked over the pieces, grabbing the white rook piece. “I’m queen of the castle! I’m queen of the castle!” She sang to herself. 

“Nora! Please!” 

“Ehehe, coming Pyrrha!” Nora skipped back to her partner.

Blake blinked at the two, before turning to Jaune. “Did she just ride in on a Deathstalker?” 

“Oh come on Blake, not the strangest thing you’ve seen today.” Jaune mumbled to her. She rolled her eyes in the usual way as a loud screech was heard.

Weiss and a boy in green came running out of the forest as a Nevermore came soaring over the clearing. “Hurry up! Run!” Weiss ordered as the two ran for their lives. 

“Blake, time we left! We only need to get the relic back to Ozpin, so I say we run away and live!” Jaune said, getting a nod from Blake, Yang, and Ruby. 

Ruby ran and grabbed the other white knight piece, as Weiss grabbed the other white rook. The Deathstalker began to stir and started to charge the teens.

“Oh man, run!” Jaune shouted as the eight began to run for the cliffs. The Nevermore took off after them, soaring ahead and sinking its talons into the stone bridge at the base of the cliff. 

“Nora, distract it!” The boy in green shouted. 

Nora nodded, grabbing her grenade launcher and firing a few rounds at the Nevermore. The Deathstalker rushed at her, before it was blocked by Green and Weiss. 

Jaune and Blake began to make a mad dash across the bridge as the Nevermore soared towards them, Ruby and Yang close behind. It slammed into the stone below them, causing Yang to be thrown back and Ruby to plummet towards certain doom. 

“Ruby!” Yang screamed, running to jump off for her when she saw a rush of white sail downwards towards Ruby. She looked closer, seeing a clawed gauntlet stretch out towards the reaper, grabbing her hand in his as he sank the claws into the stone beside him. 

Ruby’s eyes were closed, thinking she was dead. “Well, at least I can open my eyes and see mom…” she thought as she slowly opened one eye. What she saw was not her mother, but rather a white haired/green eyed Jaune Arc, slowly pulling them both back up from the abyss. “Jaune? Is that you?” 

“Yeah Ruby, it’s me. You okay?” He asked as he climbed. “Hey Blake, lower your weapon down for us! Yang, help her pull us up!” 

Blake switched Gambol Shroud into ribbon form before lowering it to the duo, feeling a tug at the end. “Yang! Hurry up! That thing’s coming back!” 

Yang ran and fired a round from her gauntlets, launching her across the gap. She grabbed the ribbon and pulled with all her might, pulling Jaune and Ruby up over the edge.

“Are you two okay?” Blake looked her partner over, not a scratch on him. 

Jaune nodded. “I think Ruby may be a bit shaken up, but she’ll live.”

“Jaune, what did you…how did you…why do you…” Ruby started, before seeing Jaune shake his head.

“Not the time! We need to take that Nevermore down, now, and I have a plan! Blake, take your ribbon and tie it around those two pillars, like a giant slingshot! Yang, launch yourself into the sling, and fire right at the beast. You knock it down, and then Ruby and I load in for the finishing shot.” Jaune ordered, earning a nod from the first two girls before Ruby nudged him on the shoulder. 

“Jaune, why are we launching at it?”

Jaune smirked. “We’re clipping its wings.”

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“Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Weiss Schnee, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you recovered the white rook pieces, and shall henceforth be known as Team Periwinkle (PRWN), lead by Pyrrha Nikos!” Professor Ozpin said.

The staff and students clapped as PRWN was formed. Nora cheered and hugged Ren, while Pyrrha simply smiled. Weiss rolled her eyes at Nora before smiling at Pyrrha as the four were ushered off the podium. 

“Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you recovered the white knight pieces, and shall henceforth be known as Team Jazzberry (JBRY), lead by Jaune Arc!” Ozpin announced, earning a cheer from the students.

Jaune pointed at himself in shock. “Me, sir?”

“Congratulations young man.” Ozpin said, shaking Jaune’s hand before ushering the four off the podium. “This concludes initiation for our new term at Beacon. Classes begin tomorrow, so for those of you who just faced perils, go, find your dorms, and relax.”

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Ruby and Yang blocked Jaune as he went to head into their room. “Not so fast, Jauney! We want to know, how did you save Ruby like that?! I mean, before I could even take a step, you were flying down there as a white blur!” Yang exclaimed.

Jaune paused, trying to come up with an explanation. “Oh, well Yang, you see what happened is…”

Yang raised an eyebrow impatiently before Blake spoke up. “It’s his semblance. It allows him to pass through walls at his will, though every time he uses it, his color palette reverses itself. Strange, but effective, right Jaune?”

“Right! Sorry I didn’t tell you, just uh…the white hair embarrasses me! Makes me look like a grandpa, right?!” Jaune scratched his hair. 

Ruby stared at him like a Grimm in the headlights. “You. Can. Pass. Through. Walls?! That’s so cool! How does it work? Are there limits? Does that ever mean your food falls ou-” 

“Ruby.” Yang placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I think Jaune’s a little tired right now. Why don’t we all just go take a rest before dinner, okay” She said, looking at Jaune. 

He nodded, opening the door for them. “Thanks Yang. So who gets which bed?”


	3. Classes and Trials

The sun began to rise over Beacon Academy, and our resident blonde was sleeping peacefully. After a long night of unpacking, figuring out who would get which bed, and then at Ruby’s suggestion, making bunk beds, Team JBRY earned a rest. 

Jaune snuggled closer into his pillow, enjoying the comfort of the beds. “I had no idea these beds were so soft! And the pillows! So warm!” He thought, pressing his face closer…

“...Jaune?” Blake whispered, a blush having crept onto her face.

Jaune opened his eyes, seeing not his pillow, but rather Blake’s yakuta. He slowly glanced up to see her face, yellow eyes looking down at him with a look that could either kill or shock, or both. Jaune sprung backwards out of the bed falling onto the floor with a loud thud.

Ruby jolted awake, springing into action at her bedside, only to see Jaune on the floor and Blake as red as Ruby’s namesake. “Jaune? Blake? What’s going on here?”

“Nothing! Nothing, right Blake?” Jaune nearly shouted.

Blake stared at him for a few seconds before replying. “Right! Nothing at all!”

A Few Hours Earlier

Jaune tossed and turned in his sleep, dreaming about the accident in the lab, and a pair of glowing red eyes that emerged from it as he ran. It chased him into a field, where he hobbled as fast as he could. Reaching a barn, he banged on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. As the beast grew closer and closer, Jaune shrunk against the door, only to fall right through it…

Jaune phased in his sleep, falling down through his bed onto Blake’s bed gently. As he felt unknown warmth beside him, Jaune’s nightmare ceased, his fear subsiding. 

Present

Ruby raised an eyebrow at the pair, before shrugging it off and digging through her bag for her stash of cookies. “Yang! Did you eat my cookies?!”

Yang, still not awake, snored quietly from the bottom bunk. 

Blake, still flustered, grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom, claiming the first shower. As she closed the door, she locked eyes with Jaune, before blushing again and slamming the door.

Jaune hit his head on the dresser over and over. “Why. Why. Why. Why.” He thought.

First Class - Grimm Studies

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" Professor Port looked out at the awkwardly silent class. “Uhm…And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." (gives Yang a wink, which she groans uncomfortably at) "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

Team JBRY sat in the front row, Yang sitting up and paying attention, Blake taking notes, and Jaune and Ruby sat with their heads propped on their arms as they drifted in and out of sleep. 

Port coughed, signaling Ruby to wake up, nudging her leader who continued to doze. "That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..."

Port droned on, his words fading into blahs as he rambled on about himself. Blake stopped taking notes at this point rolling her eyes at the man. “What does this have to do with killing Grimm?” she thought.

"Ah-heh-hem!" Port coughed, waiting until he had everyone’s (minus Jaune) attention. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero! The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Hunts…" Port droned until Jaune felt Ruby nudge him in the ribs slightly.

“Mr. Arc!” Port shouted, fully waking Jaune.

“BWAH! Yes?!” 

“Now that you’ve joined us, I asked if you saw yourself as an ideal Huntsman?”

“Yes sir!” Jaune responded almost automatically.

Port nodded at him. “Splendid! Now come down and face your opponent!” 

Jaune paused, blinking at his teammates and then Port. “What?”

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Jaune stood in front of the class, facing a large black cage, gauntlets armed. He looked towards everyone in the class, taking in a large breath of air. 

“Now Mr. Arc, as this is a classroom setting, I would advise against your wrist cannons.” 

Jaune nodded, disarming his firearms. He drew his sword, giving it a few test swings. “Well Arc, this is your chance to shine. Better not mess it up!” He thought, trying to calm his nerves.

Yang and Ruby gave a sympathetic cheer for their leader. “Go Jaune!” Yang shouted. 

“Yeah! Bring home a win to team Jazzberry!” Ruby raised a fist in the air.

Blake looked on at Jaune, the two having not spoken since the incident that morning. She stared at him, clearly nervous, and she sighed. “It was just an accident after all…” she thought, before scribbling a few things down on her notebook, before ripping out the page and folding it into a makeshift flag. “Fight well!” She cheered.

Jaune looked out, catching her gaze and smiling confidently. “I can do this! I can really do this!”

The cage door dropped, revealing a black beast with white bony armor and two long tusks coming from its face. It let out a screech before charging at Jaune.

“Oh Oum I can’t do this!” He thought as he jumped to the right to dodge the Boarbatusk’s attack. Backpedaling a bit, Jaune glared at the beast as it thrusted its tusks towards his chest. He swung his sword downwards, catching the tusks on the blade. 

The Boarbatusk struggled against Jaune, before gaining the upper hand and tossing his sword across the room.

“Oh ho! What will you do now without your sword?” Port taunted.

Out at her desk, Weiss smirked smugly. “Serves him right for calling me Ice Queen! Even if he does have amazing muscl-NO! No thinking about that!” She thought as her cheeks turned red.

Jaune glanced at the other side of the room where his sword now lay. “Crap!” he thought as he flicked his hands out, bringing the dust claw tips out. He took a more primal stance, a nervous look on his face.

The Boarbatusk went into a rolling attack towards Jaune, the blonde’s claws raking against its bone armor. Before Jaune could react, it charged at him from behind, flinging him forward. 

Jaune crashed into the cage, his aura taking a significant blow. “Ah!” He cried out as he attempted to channel his remaining aura into healing his back. His wrist beeped, showing him that his aura was in the yellow. “Gotta end this fast!” 

The Boarbatusk reared its tusks in the air before charging once again. Blake’s eyes widened, taking in a breath of air. “Jaune!” she thought as she leaned forward on her desk, reaching for Gambol Shroud. 

Jaune took his primal stance once again, this time a look of pure viciousness on his face. The Boarbatusk charged at him, rolling into another rolling attack. BRY of Jazzberry looked, ready to jump in if needed.

Jaune caught the beast by its tusks, using the momentum to flip it behind him into the bars of the cage. While it was stunned, he channeled his intangibility into it, phasing it halfway through the bars. The Boarbatusk struggled and flailed, trying to somehow get free, until Jaune leaped above it and sliced his slightly glowing clawed gauntlets at its exposed underbelly, silencing it. Jaune panted as the beast began to fade, dropping to one knee. 

A few students clapped, and Port walked forward pulling Jaune back to his feet. “Splendid work my boy! Though you lost your primary armament early on, you used your remaining weaponry and skills to turn the tides in your favor! Though you should have gone for the underbelly earlier on, as that would have saved you some aura.”

Jaune nodded, before walking over and picking up his sword. He returned to his seat, getting a look of praise from Ruby, a slap on the back and a wink from Yang, and an amused look from Blake. 

“With that display, class is dismissed for the day! For today, no homework, but keep up on your studies!” Port signaled towards the Grimm Studies book. 

As team JBRY went to leave, Ruby jumped on Jaune’s back. “Jaune, that was great! You’ve gotta show me those gauntlets more! I mean you were all like ‘whoosh whoosh’ and it was all ‘rawrrrrrrrr’ and you were all ‘wahhhh hiyaaaaa’!” Her arms flailed in front of Jaune’s face in karate movements. 

“Thanks Ruby, but it was no big deal. I could have done loads better though.” Jaune replied, hoisting the reaper along as they headed towards combat class. 

Blake placed her hand on his shoulder. “Jaune, really. You did well. No need to beat yourself up over it.” 

“Yeah, I think he got beat up enough!” Yang smirked, earning a groan from the others. “But really though loverboy, that was a great fight!”

Jaune smiled earnestly as his team entered the arena classroom. “Thanks guys. And hey, with any luck, I won’t have to fight in combat class!”

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“Our first match will be Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester. Please enter the arena and prep for combat.” Miss Goodwitch announced as the roster randomized. 

Jaune deadpanned. “Why me?” He groaned, earning a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Pyrrha, a warm look on her face.

“Jaune, don’t worry! I’m sure you’ll do quite well!” She said, green eyes meeting blue. 

Yang pumped her fist in the air. “Yeah! P-Money’s right! Go kick some butt!” 

Jaune sighed and headed down the stairs into the arena, gearing up for his second match of the day. As he stepped into the lights, Jaune saw his opponent for the first time, realizing it was the guy who threw his shirt into the girls changing room. “Hey! You’re the one who threw my clothes the other night!”

Cardin smirked. “Yeah? You have a good time in there, or did the sight of a woman break you?” He laughed as Jaune glared at him.

Jaune’s glare broke as he smirked. “You know, it actually went fine. Plus, I share a room with three girls now, and it’s pretty great! They’re gorgeous! I actually feel bad for you, Cardin, sharing a room with just guys. Unless you’re into that, which is totally fine. You be you!” The students in the seating area snickered as Cardin grew red in the face.

“You’re dead, Arc!” He shouted.

Miss Goodwitch hit the alarm bell once. “Enough! Now, arm yourselves and we will begin!” 

Cardin drew a large black mace from his back, swinging it around mercilessly. “You’re going down, loser.”

Jaune flicked his gauntlets out once again, letting the clawed tips loose. The bell sounded, and the match began. Rather than charging, Jaune took a defensive stance. 

Cardin ran at Jaune, swinging his mace at the blonde’s face. Jaune ducked, swinging his fist and hitting Cardin across the jaw, sending him back a few steps. Cardin’s aura dropped slightly, his face curled into a snarl. 

Jaune grinned as he dodged another blow from Cardin, backpedaling as Cardin advanced more and more. As he went to duck again, Cardin raised his knee and hit Jaune on the chin, stunning him long enough to give Cardin a chance to swing his mace towards the blonde’s chest.

Jaune exploded from the impact as he was sent flying backwards towards the wall, taking a major hit in his aura. He took a glance at his gauntlet again, showing he was nearing the red zone of his aura. Jaune closed his eyes, the thought of “Going ghost!” went through his mind. A white ring appeared at his waist, splitting into two as his color scheme inverted. His hair turned white and his eyes glowed a ghostly green. 

Cardin’s eyes widened as Jaune transformed. “What kind of freaky semblance is that?”

Jaune glared, taking his primal stance from his bout with the Boarbatusk. “Oh what’s the matter Cardin, afraid of little old me?” He taunted.

Cardin shook his head wildly before his glare returned. “Doesn’t matter what tricks you have, you won’t beat me!” Cardin ran towards Jaune once again, swinging his mace down towards Jaune’s head. The ground exploded and a large cloud of dirt flew into the air. 

“Jaune!” Blake shouted, running towards the stairs to the arena entrance, followed by Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha. As they reached the door, the dust cleared, Cardin standing where he had, with Jaune nowhere to be found. Suddenly, two ghostly hands reached from the floor and pulled Cardin’s feet into the ground.

“What the-” Cardin shouted as Jaune burst from the floor returning to tangible form, hitting Cardin square across the chin with an uppercut. Cardin flew backwards, his feet freeing from the dirt as he fell onto his back. Jaune drew his sword, pointing the tip at Cardin’s throat.

“That’s the match! Mr. Winchester, while you earned some strong hits against Mr. Arc, your anger caused you to lose focus. This in turn lead you to attack wildly and without any strategy, failing to first study your opponent’s semblance. As for you Mr. Arc, your defense was strong, though I counted at least four points where you could have made significant strikes to Mr. Winchester’s aura. However, your strategic use of your semblance gave you a significant advantage, as well as the win. Well done. That will be all for today, class dismissed!” Miss Goodwitch turned towards the class, signaling for them to leave. 

The arena doors opened, and the girls rushed towards Jaune, Ruby getting there first in a trail of rose petals, tackling Jaune to the ground. “Jaune! That was INCREDIBLE!” She fawned.

Yang hoisted Jaune up by his hood, running her knuckles across his head. “Yeah Jauney, you’ve got to spar with me later! I’ve gotta experience those moves first hand!”

Blake pulled Yang off of Jaune, cocking her eyebrow. “Yang, give him a break. Jaune’s already had to fight twice today! Give him a bit to recover his aura and energy.” She reasoned, the brawler shrugging.

“Oh fine, Blakey, but soon Jauney! You and I will battle! It will be amazYang!” Yang grinned at her own pun, while the others remained silent.

Ruby groaned. “Yang, that was terrible. Really, really terrible. Can we go get dinner now?”

Pyrrha remained silent, watching JBRY with a strained look. She was almost saddened, not knowing whether to interject or not. 

Jaune grinned at his team, before glancing towards Pyrrha. “Hey Pyrrha, would you and your team like to join us?” He grinned, still green eyes closing as he smiled. 

Pyrrha blinked a few timed, before smiling genuinely. “That sounds lovely!” She waved towards Weiss, Nora, and Ren, signaling them to come with JBRY. 

Blake placed a hand on Jaune’s shoulder, leaning towards his ear. “Forgetting something, ghost boy?” She whispered, smirking.

Jaune flushed slightly as he summoned his powers, the white rings returning to bring him back to human form. “Oh come on, the others are getting ahead!” He grabbed Blake’s hand and pulled her towards the door to the arena, not noticing the blush that crept to her cheeks.

 


	4. Training and a Stray

In the outskirts of Vale, White Fang troops unloaded stolen shipments of Dust into a formerly abandoned warehouse. A tall man in a white coat and a bowler hat lit up a cigar, swinging his cane idly. “Come on you bunch of animals! We’re on a deadline here, and certain associates of mine do not like to be kept waiting, so how about we move it along?!” 

A white fang member carrying a crate tripped up at Roman’s shouts, spilling phials of dust all over the floor.

Roman slapped his own forehead. “Amateurs!”

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Blake awoke early on their first weekend, the sun just rising outside JBRY’s dorm. She slipped out of her bunk and climbed up to Jaune’s, shaking him awake quietly. He made to respond but she held a finger to his lips. “Shh. Jaune, get up, get dressed, and follow me.”

Jaune blinked sleepily, but nodded in response. He climbed down, doing his best not to wake Ruby and Yang, the latter snoring away in her bunk. He slipped on his usual black and orange hoodie, yawning when he saw the time. “Blake…why? Weekends are for sleeping…” he thought as he headed out the door. 

Blake was waiting for him in the hallway, taking his hand as she lead him away from the dorms. Jaune blinked at her, stammering. “Blake, where are we going?”

“Just trust me, Jaune. It’s just something I’ve been wanting to go do all week!” She said with a smirk, taking a right turn out of the dorms.

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“Blake…when you said it was something you’d wanted to do, I didn’t think you meant this!” Jaune said, panting heavily.

Blake smirked again, placing her hand on Jaune’s shoulder…before shoving him backwards and swinging at him with Gambol Shroud. 

Jaune ducked, rolling backwards to get some ground. She hadn’t allowed him his sword or gauntlets, only his abilities. Green eyes met amber as she charged at him again, keeping him on the defense.

“Jaune, fight back! I know you can do more than that, so let’s see some action, ghost boy!” She taunted, firing Gambol Shroud at her partner.

He glared and turned intangible, the blade and ribbon passing right through his chest, before he took off running at Blake. His feet left the ground, flying now at high speeds at the girl. Jaune’s fist began to glow green as he swung, sword meeting fist in a slight explosion. 

Blake was thrown backwards, skidding several feet across the ground. She glanced up, only to see a panicked Jaune rushing towards her. Before he could get close, she fired Gambol Shroud again, snagging the ribbon around his feet, pulling him to the ground as well. “Never let your guard down!” 

Jaune groaned and phased out of the ribbon again, panting. He jumped back to his feet, and after a moment, he smirked and vanished without a trace. 

Blake kept at her guard, raising Gambol Shroud in defense. She glanced around and caught a cloud of dust kicked up twenty feet to her left. Switching Gambol Shroud into gun mode, she fired off three rounds that way, causing Jaune to become visible once more and duck out of the way.

As he ran, his fists began to glow once more, and he grinned. Throwing his hand out in Blake’s direction, a green beam of energy fired from it towards the girl, burning the ground as it hit. 

She flinched away, leaving a clone in her place, narrowly dodging the beam of ghostly energy. “Very good!” Blake grinned at her partner, signaling him to pause. “You’re getting more and more control over time, and you’ve improved since you cut that poor bush in half before initiation.”

Jaune nodded, flexing his hands. “Thanks, Blake. I feel like I’ve got a good grip on my intangibility now, so no more incidents with my clothes. As for the ecto-blasts and invisibility, they’re getting easier, though I have some ideas about the energy.”

“Oh? Please elaborate.” Blake questioned.

His eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. “Well, I was thinking about my weapons and whatnot. I can obviously channel the energy through them into attacks, but I wonder if I could do more with it, like creating barriers or something?” 

Blake nodded, sheathing her blade. “Well, I suppose in theory it’s possible. Huntsmen and Huntresses have been working with Aura for years, some even creating constructs or channeling their aura in similar ways so what you do with your ghost powers, though with less destructive results. But for now, we should go meet up with the others.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting around the time that Ruby’s been awake for about an hour, probably running around the dorm looking for us while Yang continues to sleep.”

Jaune nodded and went back to human form, the usual white rings appearing around him. He wiped his brow of sweat, muscles groaning as he moved in his human form. “You know, my Aura almost seems to work better at healing me when I’ve gone ghost. Weird, right?”

Blake’s eyebrow cocked at the blonde. “Gone ghost? Really Jaune?”

He blushed, throwing his arms out to either side, hands splayed. “Oh you know what I mean! But really though, I wonder what’s going on with my Aura?”

Blake shrugged, leading him towards the cafeteria. “Honestly Jaune I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s got to do with the way your Aura was unlocked, or maybe your circumstances themselves. In any case, it’s something we can look into over time.”

“Thanks by the way, Blake. For everything. The past few weeks, you’ve really helped me get a grip on all this, that, and you’ve covered for me when things have gone…awry.” Jaune smiled, earning a grin in response.

“It’s honestly been fun, Jaune. I mean, I’ve helped people learn about their semblances before, but this…this is something different. And I like different.”

The two reached the cafeteria, heading to their usual table with PRWN. Moments later, Ruby and Yang came rushing in, the former looking far more distressed. “Jaune, Blake, there you are! Where do you two go every Saturday?! I was worried!” The redhead shouted, flailing her arms about, earning a laugh from the others.

“Ruby, relax! We were just doing some early morning training!” Jaune replied, not noticing the change in Pyrrha’s demeanor. 

“Training?” Pyrrha asked, emerald eyes lighting up at the thought of training with Jaune. “Surely six eyes are better than four! If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to join you next time.” She grinned ear to ear at the pair.

Jaune and Blake looked at each other, and then at Pyrrha. “Well, I mean…” Jaune saw Pyrrha’s face fall, and he melted completely. “Sure! That sounds great, right Blake?” 

Blake’s face dropped slightly, but she kept her composure. “Sure Jaune, that sounds…lovely…” She whipped a book out of her bag and began to tone out the rest of the conversation. “Seriously? This is our thing! Why can’t she just mind her own team’s business…” Blake thought/ 

“Hey Blake?” 

She was drawn out of her thoughts by the blonde boy beside her. “Yes?”

“We were thinking about heading down to the city and meeting some of the exchange students coming for the Vytal Festival, if you’d like to join us.” Jaune said, blue eyes locking with amber.

Blake pondered for a moment, before closing her book. “Why not?”

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Teams JBRY and PRWN walked through the streets of Vale, chatting casually among themselves. "The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss chanted, smiling bigger than any of the teams had seen before.

“Weiss, I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this much. Who knew that all it took was the Vytal Festival to thaw the Ice Queen…” Jaune said, earning a laugh from everyone but Weiss.

She glared at the blonde, smile not faltering. “Oh hush you. And besides, how could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

Yang groaned. “You know Weiss, you sure know how to take something great and make it sound really boring. Worse than Port really.” 

The others laughed again, causing Weiss to grow red in the face from embarrassment and frustration. “Quiet, you!”

As the teams neared the docks, Ruby plugged her nose in disgust. “Blegh, it smells like fish.”

Blake grinned. “Yes, yes it does.” Jaune laughed at his partner. “So Weiss, why are we here again?”

Weiss rolled her eyes at the blonde. "I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!”

Blake rolled her eyes. “She wants to spy on the incoming transfers.”

“Oh hush, you can’t prove that!” 

Pyrrha placed a hand on her partner’s shoulder. “I think this is a grand idea! We can meet new students as well as find out some about them!”

“Hey kids, get out of here! This is a crime scene.” An officer said to the teams. “Third Dust shop robbery this week…”

“Think it was the White Fang?” A second officer asked.

The first groaned. “Probably…we don’t get paid enough for this.”

Weiss frowned on the spot. "Hmph! The White Fang." (crossing her arms and pointing her nose in the air with her eyes closed) "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

Blake turned and glared at her. “What’s your problem?!” Her bow twitched, Jaune knowing what was about to happen.

Weiss turned and glared back. “MY problem? I don’t happen to like dealing with the criminally insane!”

Jaune chirped in, trying to ease the tension. “You know, the White Fang are hardly insane. More like misguided. They’re treated poorly because they’re different, and from that, they lash out. While what they do is wrong, it comes from how the world treats them. 

Blake looked on at her partner, reveling at his words. “Jaune’s something special…”

Ruby nodded at Jaune, before looking at Weiss. “Jaune’s right. We’ve got Faunus back in Patch, and I’m sure if they were mistreated for being who they are, they’d lash out too. Besides, they never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months back, so maybe it was him?”

Weiss glared at the three. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

Nora groaned, and Ren decided enough was enough. “Weiss, you know that isn’t necessarily true…”

“Hey, stop that Faunus!” A voice shouted from an incoming ship.

A blonde, monkey tailed boy jumped off the ship, sprinting down the docks. “Thanks for the ride boys! Catch ya later!” He laughed, the two officers from before rushing over.

“Hey you! Get down here this instant!” The officer demanded.

The Faunus laughed, throwing a banana peel at the man before flipping off the post he’d jumped on and began sprinting towards the streets. As he passed teams JBRY and PRWN, he winked at Blake and Yang before disappearing into the alleys.

“After him!” Weiss shouted, the two teams taking chase after the monkey tailed boy. 

The two teams split, JBRY going west and PRWN going east. “Jaune, we need to cut some ground! Use your semblance!” Yang shouted. 

Jaune blinked, before nodding. “Right!” The blonde kicked his ghost powers into gear, the usual white rings appearing and turning him into his alternate form. He concentrated, and then went intangible, running straight through the nearest building, catching the monkey Faunus in a tackle. 

“Hey! What was that for?” 

“You ran from the police!” Jaune exclaimed.

The Faunus rolled his eyes, extending his hand. “Look, you’ve got it all wrong! I’m from Haven! I’m a student, just came a little early! I swear, I didn’t do whatever you think I did! Name’s Sun by the way!”

Jaune stood staring at Sun, trying to get a read on him. “Alright fine Sun, get out of here. But you owe me one for this. And I’m Jaune.”

Sun grinned, shaking Jaune’s hand. “Jaune, got it! The guy with the white hair! Spooky! Anyways, gotta run!” Sun ran and jumped up off the wall, flipping onto a rooftop. “Thanks Jaune!”

The rest of JBRY caught up, PRWN in tow. “Where is he?! Did you get him, Arc?!” Weiss demanded of the ghost boy.

Jaune glanced at his team before looking at Weiss. “Sorry Weiss, he slipped through my fingers…” He lied. 

Blake placed her hand on his shoulder, knowing the truth. “It’s okay, Jaune. I’m sure we’ll see him again.”

“No! Arc, you were supposed to catch him! Now the filthy Faunus got away!” Weiss nearly screamed.

“Stop saying things like that! The way you talk, you sound no better than the people who made the White Fang do what they do in the first place!” Blake shouted back.

Weiss turned to her, fuming. “Well MAYBE they should have just learned that the world doesn’t change that fast!”

“Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!” Blake screamed, placing her hand over her mouth, everyone but Jaune looking at her in shock. Before anyone could say another word, she ran, Jaune taking chase.

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Blake walked towards the statue at the front of Beacon, looking on at the heroes of the past. Tears welling in her eyes, she reached up and removed her bow, her cat ears twitching in the night air. 

“I always thought you looked better without the bow.” Jaune said, appearing from the ether.

Blake turned to run again, but Jaune caught her by the shoulder. 

“Blake, look at me. What you did in the past doesn’t matter. It’s about who you ARE that matters, and you’re Blake! My partner, my friend, hell, my teacher at times. That’s the Blake that means the world to me and everyone else!” Jaune smiled, reaching forward and wiping a tear from her eye. “Now come on, let’s get back to the others and expl-”

Jaune was cut off as her lips pressed against his, silencing him in the night air. “Wow…” he thought, as he pressed back against her, before she took his hand and ran off into the night.

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Within a warehouse in the outskirts of Vale, a glowing form burst from the shadows, red eyes aflare as it roared. Roman Torchwick walked forward, twirling his cane as he stepped towards the beast. “Well well, looks like we’re going to have some fun…”


	5. Black and White

Jaune sat at the table, nervously drinking his hot chocolate. Blake sipped on her tea, casually eyeing the blonde sitting across from her. “Jaune…”

The boy choked on his drink, coughing excessively as his lungs burned. “B-Blake! I was wondering if you were gonna talk to me again! It’s been two days, so I guess I got a bit startled, heh.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously. 

Blake’s ears twitched behind her bow, and her face grew slightly sour. She stared at him, cocking an eyebrow. “Look Jaune, you’re taking this all surprisingly well, which I very much appreciate, but forgive me if I’m a bit taken aback by it. After the war, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist…” She let out a sigh, looking down at the table. “Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear. What I…what we did…I left when I realized that we were becoming exactly what we hated, and that we were no better than the humans that tried to control us. ”

Jaune sighed, running his hand along his forearm nervously. “Blake, I can really only imagine what that was like, but I’ve had dreams…nightmares really about if someone found out about me, and what they would do. From how you describe it, I’d be an outcast, but…you didn’t judge me. You accepted me right off the bat, even if I’m half ghost or whatever I am. You’re not the kind of person anyone should be afraid of. If anything, Weiss seems like the type to fear, and if not her, at least her family then. That was a bit…much.”

She nodded, still looking at the table. “The Schnee family is well known for their dealings in the Dust industry, as well as their shady side and their blatant racism, hence their hatred of the White Fang, but the Fang have no reason to steal Dust like this, they never have. I need to find out who’s behind this, and prove to Weiss that the Faunus aren’t who she thinks. If not…then to at least prove to myself… I understand if you don’t want to come with m-” She stopped when she felt Jaune’s hand on top of hers.

“Blake, you really think I wouldn’t go? We’ve been away from everyone else for days, and I haven’t once attempted to drag you back. I’m here with you to HELP you, with whatever you need.” He smiled at her, gripping her hand in his. “I’m gonna be here every step of the way, so I guess you’re stuck with me, kitty cat.” 

She blushed at the nickname, smiling back. “Alright then, let’s get started!”

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Jaune and Blake headed towards the docks, moving as quietly as possible. Blake signaled Jaune to head towards the fence around the area, but he grabbed her arm, pointing at the top. Slight arcs of electricity could be seen sparking along the metal tips. 

“Well this could prove a problem. Looks like we need to find a way around, maybe something we can jump over…” Blake started.

Jaune shook his head, smirking slightly. “Blake, are you forgetting something? Ghost powers!”

“No Jaune, I didn’t forget, but that only gets you through. I’ll still have to-”

“Blake, just trust me, I’ve got an idea.” The white rings appeared, turning Jaune into his ghost form. He extended his hand to her, green eyes meeting amber.

She tentatively took his hand after a moment, and then felt a chill run through her spine. Jaune’s body went intangible, his body fading to a pale blue, and with him after a moment went Blake, who jumped in surprise. The two walked through the fence, Jaune returning them to a tangible form.

“Jaune, when did you-”

“Honestly, just now. Guess this is something we can work with!” 

Blake smirked at him, placing a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks again for being here. Now come on, let’s find out who’s really behind this!” She ran towards a warehouse, Jaune in tow. 

The pair climbed up a ladder and then crawled across the rooftop, peering down onto the yard. The wind began to blow, and from above, a Bullhead's searchlights flashed around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.

“Oh no…” Blake cringed. 

Jaune looked at her. “Is…is it them?”

“Yes…it’s them.”

Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder. “You really thought it wasn’t them, didn’t you?”

Blake frowned, looking away. “No…I think that deep down I knew, but I didn’t want to be right.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" Roman Torchwick stepped out of the warehouse, twirling his cane as he eyed the White Fang members. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

Blake puled away from Jaune, arming Gambol Shroud. “This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that.” She stood, running towards the edge of the roof. 

“Blake, what are you doing?!” Jaune whispered as loudly as he could, but she was gone. 

Roman kicked a crate that had been dropped. “Oh come on now! Send in a bunch of filthy animals to do a hum-” He was cut off as Blake appeared from behind him, holding her sword to his throat. “Oh what the f-”

Blake tightened her grip around Roman, pressing the blade closer as she let her bow go loose, freeing her cat ears. “Quiet! Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?!”

The White Fang members looked on in shock, some lowering their weapons. Roman laughed at Blake, causing her grip to tighten. “Whoah there little lady, didn’t you get the memo? The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!”

Blake’s grip faltered slightly, her hands trembling slightly. “Tell me what it is, or I’ll end your little operation.” She pressed the blade to his throat, hand shaking.

From above, the roar of multiple Bullheads sounded, Blake looking up in shock. Roman, taking notice of her distraction, fired his cane at the ground, sending her flying.

Blake, dazed but mostly unharmed rolled and ran from Roman, dodging the explosive blasts he sent her way. The blasts exploded against the cargo behind her as she ran and hid behind a tower of shipping containers.

Roman stepped forward, White Fang members behind him, searching for Blake. “Here kitty kitty…Oof!” 

Jaune leaped down from the building, kicking Roman in the chest and knocking him back. He glared at Roman, green eyes glowing against the night. “Leave her alone.” His gauntlets went into battle mode, covering his forearms.

“Oh look, Black and White tonight! You two are a few keys short of a piano, aren’t ya kid?” Roman looked around at the docile White Fang members. “Well? Get him.”

The Fang members charged at the ghost boy, bearing swords and clubs. One swung at Jaune who blocked with his left gauntlet before he delivered a blow to the Faunus’ gut. The Fang member dropped to the ground in pain before Jaune kicked him in the face, knocking him out. 

A second and third Fang member ran towards Jaune simultaneously. Jaune’s hands glowed green before firing ecto-energy blasts at them, sending them flying into shipping containers. 

Roman’s eyes widened as he armed his cane. “What the hell are you?!” He fired at Jaune, the explosive blast encompassing Jaune. “There we go, freak taken care of.”

The smoke cleared, revealing a green, domed shield glowing around Jaune. “What the…did I make this?” Jaune asked aloud, looking around at the energy around him.

“Die you freak!” Roman fired three more blasts, each exploding against the shield, the last causing it to falter and fade.

From above, Blake dove down in front of Jaune, rushing at Roman. “He’s mine!” She shouted, becoming a blur of afterimages as she slashed both blades at Roman, who dodged and deflected each would-be hit with his cane at unbelievable speeds. 

She continued to dash, hop over, and slide around Roman to try and find a weak spot, but he deflected each attack, almost with ease. Sliding around her, he landed a few hits on her until he hit her with a heavy strike, sending her to the ground.

Before Roman could strike again, Jaune rushed forward, slashing at Roman with his claws, now glowing with ecto-energy, becoming ghostly arcs of offense. Roman deflected each attack, his weapon taking damage with each blow. Jaune fired a small blast at Roman after an attack, stunning him long enough for Blake to rush in and strike Roman across the chest, sending him flying into a shipping container.

Roman pulled himself back up, eyes lit with fury. “That’s it kiddies! The gloves come off, now! Hey, big ugly! Come play with our new friends!” He shot a blast at a container hanging from above, dropping it down in front of Jaune and Blake. 

A roar was heard from inside, and the doors exploded open, revealing a white and black beast, eyes glowing red. The beast had a white glow around it, and its claws sank deep into the ground. It looked towards the pair, and it roared when it saw Jaune, charging at him. 

Jaune ran forwards, swinging at the beast, only to take a hit as it swung its claws at him. He was sent flying, turning himself intangible and flying through several crates. “That all you got?!” Jaune flew back, firing blasts of ecto-energy, doing little more than stunning it. 

Blake took the chance to jump at the beast, using afterimages again and again to dodge its attacks, swiping at it, hindering it slightly until it swung its massive paw at her, knocking her into a crate, leaving a massive dent in the steel side. A flash of black energy glowed around Blake and broke, her aura failing.

The beast ran towards her, smelling her blood in the air. From above, Jaune flew down, eyes glowing a menacing green. “Get away from her!” He screamed, his scream growing louder and louder until it was deafening, sending waves of ecto-energy at the beast. It howled in pain as it was thrown backwards into the side of the warehouse, trembling in agony. Jaune’s eyes began to turn blue, and his hair began to turn back to its normal blonde as he sent every ounce of power into his wailing. 

Dropping to his knees, Jaune’s form shifted back to human. He looked up, sweat dripping down his face as he tried to eye the beast. Off to the side, it was beginning to rise again, looking at Jaune almost quizzically.

At one of the Bullheads, Roman rushed inside, taking a briefcase of Dust with him. “These kids just keep getting weirder! Get me out of here! She’s not gonna be happy about this. Ugly, scram!” The Bullhead took off, heading out of the city into the night sky. 

“Hey!” Ruby shouted from a nearby rooftop, Crescent Rose in hand. She slammed it down into the roof, taking aim at the beast. It stood, roaring at her before Yang jumped down from above and fired Ember Celica into its face. 

The beast, stunned, looked at Team JBRY once more before turning intangible and fading into the ground. 

Blake slowly stood, clutching her side. “Is it…is it gone?” She asked before falling back to her knees in pain. Yang rushed to her side, hoisting her back up and helping her over to a crate to sit on. Ruby dashed down from her rooftop to Jaune, trying to pull him up to no avail. 

Sirens roared and lights flashed as the Vale police arrived on the scene, officers exiting vehicles with guns at the ready. The four teens raised their hands in defense and innocence as they explained what happened.

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“So Torchwick and the White Fang are in business together? That’s just great.” An officer finished writing down the information and walked away from JBRY to the teachers, Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch having been brought to the scene.

“Jaune!” 

He glanced over to see Pyrrha and the rest of PRWN rushing towards them. Before he could speak, he was wrapped in a hug by the redhead, her body shaking. 

“Well this is weird…” he thought as his bones were crushed by the spartan.

“I thought something happened to you! That you’d been taken, or worse!” She sobbed. 

Ren placed a hand on Jaune’s shoulder. “Jaune, are you and Blake alright? What happened?”

Blake stood, her side now covered in bandages. She walked towards PRWN and Jaune slowly, locking eyes with Weiss. “Weiss, what I did before I knew you all isn’t who I am n-”

“Stop.” Weiss ordered, a fierce look in her eyes.

Blake froze in place, staring at the white haired girl. Jaune broke away from Pyrrha and placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder. 

“You said you aren’t with them anymore…and I am willing to believe that after your actions here tonight.” Nora elbowed her in the ribs, the ginger haired girl receiving a glare. “And I’m sorry for what I said before. I was out of line, and I’ve no one to blame but myself.”

Blake slowly smiled, nodding at Weiss. “Apology accepted, Weiss. Just know that I would never do something like this…ever.” 

“We all know that, Blakey! Now can we please get out of here?” Yang asked, entering the fray of the conversation.

“I think that would be wise for all of you.” Professor Ozpin stated, stepping towards the two teams. “Jaune, Blake, you two fought admirably tonight, and your efforts resulted in valuable knowledge for the protection of the kingdom. While I praise your findings, I also caution restraint. You are all still in training, and men like Roman Torchwick are dangerous. Please, next time call for backup instead of rushing in alone.”

Jaune and Blake nodded in response as Professor Goodwitch stepped towards them. “Good. Now all of you into the Bullheads. You’ve been allowed a day off tomorrow to recuperate, and I advise you to use it wisely.” She and Ozpin walked back to the officers to finish up for the evening.

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Jaune yawned as JBRY entered their dorm, falling onto his bed with a loud ‘thud’. He kicked his shoes off, slowly drifting into sleep. Just before he was out…

“Hey Jaune…how did you do that thing with your voice at the docks? I mean you sent that thing flying! I thought you could just go through things, not…that! And how did it just disappear into the ground like that?” Ruby half shouted. 

Yang crossed her arms in agreement, stepping towards the blonde boy. “Yeah, Jauney! You got some kind of secret or something?”

Jaune’s eyes widened, darting back and forth between Yang and Ruby. “Well…I…”

“Enough. If Jaune want’s to explain himself, let him do it on his terms, not yours. It’s his secret to tell, not yours to pressure out of him.” She smiled at him softly, catching him as he mouthed ‘thank you’ at her.

Yang frowned before hopping onto her bed. “Fiiiiine. But Jaune, really, when you’re ready, you know you can trust us, right? We’re your friends too.”

He nodded, smiling slightly. “I promise you both…Yang…Ruby…I’ll explain everything soon enough, but not tonight. All I want to do right now is sleep.”

“Agreed.” Blake said before sliding into her own bed. 

Jaune drifted into sleep within minutes, the others still casually chatting about the evening and what they’d seen. As he began to dream, Jaune’s mind was filled with thoughts of the beast that attacked them, he remembered a discussion at the lab just before the explosion. “Spectral Grimm are also known as Omegas, existing only in legend. Opposite to Alphas, the Omegas exist only in this other world. When we break down this barrier, we should be able to study them, maybe finding a way to use the Omegas to end the Grimm once and for all.”

“Jaune?” Blake asked, climbing up into his bunk. Seeing him asleep, Blake placed a kiss on his forehead before curling up next to him. “Night, Ghost Boy.” She smiled before drifting off herself.


End file.
